


He Doesn't Hate You

by hockeyallthehockey



Series: Russian Mafia AU [4]
Category: Hockey RPF
Genre: Angst, Drunkenness, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Vomiting, mention of a threesome
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-22
Updated: 2018-04-22
Packaged: 2019-04-26 04:23:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,735
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14394216
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hockeyallthehockey/pseuds/hockeyallthehockey
Summary: Sasha fucked up, with Nicky. He knew it, Zhenya knew it, and Sidney definitely knew it. But Zhenya and Sidney loved Sasha, as a dear friend, and Sasha loved Nicky. So Sid, being Sid, had to try to fix it.





	He Doesn't Hate You

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by [Zhenya71's](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zhenya71) [For the Best](https://archiveofourown.org/works/14389746).  
> " _Quoted text in italics_ " is being spoken in Russian.  
> This is part of an ongoing Russian Mafia AU, which is now an AO3 Series!

Sidney unlocked and opened the door to hear Zhenya speaking urgently and quickly in Russian. He frowned, as he hung up his hoodie and toed off his shoes, translating the Russian words in his head.

" _You can't blame him, Sasha. No, you can't, you showed up for court in... well he didn't think it was funny, did he? No, the judge didn't, either._ "

Sid winced and followed Zhenya's voice into the living room. Zhenya lifted a hand to greet him, and made a pained face. "Sasha," he mouthed. Sid nodded, and mimed drinking. Zhenya nodded, and Sid winced again.

Things must have gone badly with Nicklas, if Sasha was drinking and calling Zhenya about it. Sidney bent to drop a kiss to Zhenya's hair, and then stepped into the kitchen to grab a couple of beers out of the fridge. Zhenya's voice trailed after him, still in Russian.

" _You're not useless. Jesus, Sasha, you're maudlin when you're sad drunk._ " A pause, and then Zhenya snorted, and Sidney could picture him shaking his head. " _Of course we still love you, you fucking idiot._ "

Sid chuckled, shaking his own head, and popped the tops off the bottles of beer, then carried them into the living room. He sat next to Zhenya on the sofa and handed him one of the bottles, then gestured for the phone. "Gimme," he said in English. "Let me talk to him."

Zhenya took the beer, and almost gratefully handed the phone over. Sid lifted it to his ear to hear Sasha slurring, mid-sentence - and Sid had to wonder about his life, that he was able to understand slurred, drunken Russian just fine. " _...told me he doesn't want me, and I can't fix it, and Zhenya I'm gonna_ die."

Sidney blinked, blinked again, and then shook his head. " _Sasha? It's Sidney._ "

Sasha was quiet for a moment, and then exclaimed, " _Sidney, Nicky hates me!_ "

" _He doesn't hate you, Sasha._ " Maybe Nicky _did_ hate him, but Sid didn’t think so, and anyway, he wasn't going to _say_ that, not even in Russian. " _You embarrassed him and humiliated him, and we_ told _you this would happen._ "

Sasha groaned, and the staticky thud across the cell phone made it sound like he had flopped back against his bed, or the sofa, or the floor, something. " _He hates me, Sidka._ "

Sid huffed. " _Sasha, he doesn't hate you. And neither do we. Listen, get in a cab, and come over here. I'll make varenyky and we'll keep you company._ "

" _With sour cream?_ " Sasha's question was plaintive, and Zhenya looked like he wanted to ask the same thing. Sidney chuckled and rolled his eyes at them both.

" _Yes, with sour cream. Would I feed you Russian food with no sour cream?_ " Sidney tried to sound indignant, but he was pretty sure he just sounded fond. " _Don't drive, you're drunk. Get a cab, or... Zhenya, go get him?_ " Zhenya nodded, and Sid smiled at him. " _Sasha, stay there, Zhenya will come get you._ "

It took Sidney another nearly fifteen minutes to get Sasha off the phone, during which time he heard Sasha try to sing a love song to Nicky. The call finally disconnected when Zhenya got there and took the phone from Sasha, said " _Be home soon, kitten,_ " to Sid, and then hung up the call.

****

At nine o'clock the next morning, Sid leaned against his bedroom doorway, drinking a cup of coffee and watching Zhenya and Sasha sleeping in his bed, sprawled against each other, both of them having shifted to take up the space Sid vacated when he got up.

Sasha had stuffed himself on Sid's varenyky - Mama Malkina's recipe - and more vodka, and then had all but passed out on the sofa. An hour later, he had woken up to start vomiting painfully into the bucket Zhenya retrieved from under the kitchen sink, while Sidney rubbed his back.

With his stomach empty of everything but two glasses of water and a couple of Tylenol, Sasha had let them take him to bed, had let himself be held while he cried himself out and fell asleep between his two dear friends. And after Zhenya had also fallen asleep, Sidney had watched them both sleep for hours, until he finally dozed, too.

He'd been wide awake and unable to get back to sleep just a few hours later, and had gotten up to avoid waking Sasha or Zhenya. He usually caught _up_ on sleep on his days off, but today he couldn't shut his brain up. There had to be some way to fix this. Sasha was often a fool, sometimes an idiot who didn't think his actions through, but he was a good man - being in the Russian mafia didn’t negate that, any more than it did with Zhenya, or now with Sidney, himself. And he was genuinely in love with Nicklas. By Zhenya's reckoning, Sasha had never been like this about anyone, not in the many, many years they'd known each other.

Sidney watched the boys sleep for a while longer, until his coffee cup was empty. Then he took the cup to the kitchen to rinse it, and picked up his phone to send a text to Nicklas.

**From Sidney:** Hi. Can we meet for coffee? I'd like to talk to you about Sasha.

He settled on the sofa and pulled his laptop closer, to check his email while he waited for Nicklas to reply. His phone buzzed not ten minutes later, and he checked the reply.

**From Nicklas** : There's nothing to talk about.

**From Sidney:** Please?

**From Nicklas:** Sidney, this isn't a good idea.

**From Sidney:** I understand that he fucked up. Believe me, I understand. I also know that he's in love with you.

**From Nicklas:** That's ridiculous. He didn't take our relationship seriously.

**From Sidney:** It seems like that, I know. But he is in love with you. He doesn't lie when he's drunk. Last night he was very very drunk. He cried himself to sleep in our bed.

**From Nicklas:** I'm not sure what to say to that.

**From Sidney:** There was no sex, there hasn't been since he started seeing you. Please, Nicklas. As your friend, I'm asking you to let him at least try to explain himself. After that, if you aren't ready to give him another chance, I won't bother you about it again. You have my word.

There was a long, long pause, and Sid was on the verge of typing something else when Nicklas finally answered.

**From Nicklas:** With you there. I won't be alone with him, he's too good at talking me into doing things I shouldn't do.

Sid closed his eyes and sighed, breathing a quiet prayer of thanks.

**From Sidney:** Of course. You can come here, if you like. Then it's private but also neither your space or his. Neutral ground. Zhenya and I will both be here.

**From Nicky:** All right. I'll be there at noon.

**From Sidney:** I'll have lunch ready. Thank you, Nicklas.

**From Nicky:** Don't thank me. I still think this is a bad idea. I'll see you at noon.

Sid left it at that, and set his laptop aside, taking his phone with him to the kitchen. He'd let Sasha and Zhenya sleep for a while longer, before waking them up to take showers and make themselves presentable. Between them, they'd find clothes that more or less fit Sasha. In the meantime, Sid had to get something together for lunch.

****

Sasha wasn’t still _drunk_ when Sid shook him awake - more gently by far than he shook Zhenya, but then Zhenya was a hibernating bear on _good_ days. Sasha wasn’t still drunk, but he was most definitely hung over. Sidney left Zhenya to wake up, with promises of dire consequences if he went back to sleep, and frog-marched Sasha to the bathroom to shower.

By the time Sasha was done in the shower, Sidney had a bottle of Gatorade set on the bathroom counter next to clean clothes, and Zhenya was dressed and sitting at the table, steaming his eyebrows with his cup of very, very strong coffee. There was pasta salad chilling in the refrigerator, next to sandwich fixings already sliced and set on plates, and borsch was simmering on the stove. There was absolutely no alcohol in sight.

Sidney made sure Sasha got dressed, urged him out to the table to sit, and then got himself washed up and dressed, letting Zhenya and Sasha talk… well. Letting Sasha try to coax actual words out of the hibernating bear. They were actually conversing quietly when Sid came back, and Sasha managed a small smile. " _Thank you, Sidka,_ " he said quietly. " _For calling Nicky. For asking him to come talk to me._ "

Sidney bent to drop a kiss to Zhenya's hair, and then returned Sasha's smile. " _You're welcome. You might not want to thank me, though. I told him that you're in love with him._ "

That got a bark of laughter from Zhenya, and Sasha's jaw actually dropped. Sidney huffed and shook his head. " _Sasha, it's true, and we all know it. Don't try to deny it._ "

Sasha sputtered for a moment, then sighed and dropped his chin to his chest. " _Yes, fine, you're right. But why did you have to..._ "

He was interrupted by a knock at the front door, and his eyes widened in sudden panic. " _Fuck, he's here. What do I say? How do I..._ "

Zhenya reached over to cover Sasha's mouth with one hand, as Sidney went to answer the door. " _Tell him the truth. Be honest with him, and with yourself, Sasha. He won't settle for anything less. And he deserves nothing less._ " He glanced towards the door as Nicklas's voice sounded, a bit deeper than Sidney's. " _What did you tell me when I almost lost Sidka?_ "

Sasha looked towards the door, too, and swallowed hard. " _If he loves you, he won't ask you to be something that you're not._ " He nodded, and pushed to his feet. " _Okay. You're right. You're right._ " He squared his shoulders, and turned to face the man he loved. "Hello, Nicky. I very sorry I hurt you, embarrass you. I know is wrong. Please let me try make it better."

Standing beside Nicklas, Sidney smiled as Nicky's expression softened and he stepped closer to the table to take a seat. With Nicklas, that was as good as a yes.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm also [hockeyallthehockey](http://hockeyallthehockey.tumblr.com) on tumblr. Come yell about hockey boys with me!


End file.
